The Cursed Islands
Overview The Cursed Islands, also known as Blacklands or Darklands, is a group of islands northeast of the Gaudorian main land. The islands are special, as they were settled by the northern barbarians and the eastern nomads simultaniously, resulting in a cultural blend. In the 3rd era, the islands were affected by a curse, resulting in the vanishing of color on these islands. Before this event, the islands were collectively called Forland. History Discovery First discovered by Eidan Meridock in 1E-2-2, the group of islands seemed uninhabitable due to frequent storms and harsh weather. For years, noone made claims for the islands. In the 2E-2-3, the Vizkep built massive wooden walls around the eastern islands as shelter from the winds. Behind these walls, they built small settlements. Not soon after, the few farmers that had managed to make the islands their home on the south-western parts were aided by the Brigade, themselves building structures to shelter the population. The Kinev War By 2E-3-2, the two cultures stood against each other on the main island, where parts of an ancient ruin were found, both parties placing claims of ancestry. This dispute lead to a war. In the following years, the frontline wandered from west to east and back, the Vizkep taking villages by use of magic, the Brigade-aided settlers using strategy and brute force. In 2E-3-3, a Vizkep battlemage hiding in the ruins for 7 weeks, Ividan Hyiel, discovered that the ruins were of neither Vizkepian nor Gaudorian ancestry. It was revealed that it was a temple, that was build on top of a natural grotto, where Hyel found bones of unknown origin. In this grotto, he learned the name of the temple: Av Kinev Uthvar. After this discovery, the Gaudorian leaders and the Vizkep Elders sat together and struck a deal. They would share the land around the temple, building a city of a common heritage: The Kinev City. Hyiel, by now elder courtmage, devoted his life on finding out the origins of the bones he had found. After years, he translated the name Av Kinev Uthvar to simply "Prison". The origin of the bones was not revealed until his scholar, whose name was never documented, went back to the grotto to find more of the bones in 3E-1-2. He managed to assemble a part of the left wing of a young animal, which he identified as a dragon. The temple was rebuilt, and the catacombs leading to the grotto were shut. The Flood of Man In 3E-2-1, many of the refugees of the Vizkepian land fled to Forland, leading to a crisis, since the Islands were not organized enough to support that many people. Lots of refugees tried to seek shelter in caves and forests on the island, but were killed by either the harsh conditions or the dangerous wildlife. To this day, ruined camp sites and human remains are found throughout the islands. Many tried to get access to the city Kinev, which was built around the old temple, but only a handful were granted entry. these people were not lucky either, for they were used as cheap workers to build the Kinev Citadel, a massive structure covering the Kinev temple. During the construction, many refugees died, partly solving the refugee crisis. The survivors either married into wealthier families or were moved to a slum, which had been built outside the walls of Kinev. The March of the Priests After the Citadel was finished in 3E-3-2, Inneah, last name unknown, a woman who had been a worker, stepped forward to reveal that, during the construction, she had fallen into a passage leading into the catacombs below the city. She couldn't get back up, so she went further down. When she got to the grotto, she saw bright markings on the floor, leading to the middle of the cave. Where the markings met, she found two eggs, both the size of a small child. One she secretly kept for herself, the other one she had told the guards about before, but they didn't believe her. The Forland's Mage's Circle stepped down into the grotto to investigate. They concluded that the egg left in the grotto was holding a baby dragon, the same breed that the scholar of Ividan Hyiel had introduced over 250 years ago. The gate to the catacombs was opened again, and the priests of Kinev took a ceremonial march through the city, from the old cathedral down into the catacombs, where they would reside from now on, guarding the egg. The old Cathedral was now run by two priests who decided to stay above ground and feed the hungry in the cathedral. The Forland Dispute While researching the dragon egg, the priests found out that wielding magic in its presence amplified the effect of the spells greatly. They became more seclusive, which lead many of the inhabitants of Kinev to move away from the church. One man, Onun Wittak, a former mage, started to speak up against the priests and the mages. Within a short time, the Brigade was called into Kinev and the other cities to maintain order among the citizens. With the priests and the Brigade occupied, no one looked after the people outside the cities. The word of Onun spread fast, and the inhabitants of the Forland split into three groups. One supported the priests and mages, which was by far the biggest. The second stood with Onun, saying that the priests should tend to their people, and the few mages stationed on Forland should keep the defenses up. The third group, a rather small one, stuck to the word of Inneah, who, after the priests went to guard the egg, found that the egg should be cared for above ground and the hatchling nursed to a healthy life. At the start of 3E-3-3, the situation in the cities deteriorated, leading to the first aggressive actions by the Brigade. The people started to actively take sides and attack the other groups. In the middle of 3E-3-3, seven of Inneah's followers tried to break into the catacombs and steal the egg. As the group advanced into the grotto, three mages tried to fend them off. One of them was killed before the two others cast the first deadly spell, killing two of the attackers. As the battle went on, another three attackers and the second mage, brother to the last mage, were killed. The Plunge into Darkness Seeing his sibling killed, Fjeri Nur, the Last Mage, lost his mind. He set the cave ablaze, startet levitating and his eyes turned to a glowing white. His magic amplified by the presence of the dragon egg, he was able to tear a rift to the Void, which called all of the remaining attackers. Fjeri himself turned black, becoming the first known human to be trapped between the Void and the real world. The void spell Fjeri cast in his grief was not only a rift, it was a connection, from which the a part of the Void dripped into the world. The whole grotto started to turn black, only leaving the glowing lines leading to the center, where the egg lied. The blackness had filled up the room, there was only Fjeri, levitating in the grotto, high above the egg. When the Void first reached the surface, the people were terrified. Instead of fighting, most of them panicked, throwing over objects and other people as they tried to flee the blackness. Trivia * When leaving the Forland Sea, sailors, who had not come in contact with the Void, described the feeling as "if waking from a nightmare. You turn around, and the sky is bright again. You only have shadowy glimpses of what the Forland looks like, as if you never really saw it. Yet the feeling, that the islands are still there, connected to the Void, lingers."